Date set for Oscar Pistorius appeal

South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal has set November for prosecutors to appeal against Oscar Pistorius’s acquittal on a murder charge for shooting girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

The court did not fix an exact date, but said that it will be in November – three months after Pistorius, who was convicted of a lesser charge, is eligible for release from prison to go to house arrest.

Pistorius was convicted of culpable homicide, similar to manslaughter, and sentenced to five years in jail last year for killing Steenkamp in 2013.

Prosecutors appealed, saying the double-amputee Olympic athlete should have been found guilty of murder.

Supreme Court of Appeal registrar Paul Myburgh said that chief prosecutor Gerrie Nel and defence lawyer Barry Roux have met with the president of the court.